


A Scary Start

by TrashFoot



Category: Ghost Adventures (TV)
Genre: A 'They Just Met Tonight' AU, Haunted House, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-24
Updated: 2018-10-24
Packaged: 2019-08-06 22:30:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,757
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16396298
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TrashFoot/pseuds/TrashFoot
Summary: Zak and Nick are at a Halloween party that Aaron invited them to. Actually, Aaron just introduced them to each other, and then proceeds to get dragged away deep into the party. With Aaron gone, they decide to ditch the party and walk down the road, where they stumble upon a haunted house. (There's a short description of some fake gore-y stuff you'd see at a haunted house-- nothing too into detail, but I just felt like I should toss in a heads up for those who aren't fans of that kind of stuff).





	A Scary Start

“Hey! You made it!” Aaron shouted into Zak’s ear. Zak was surprised he could hear his friend at all, the stereo- wherever it was- was playing the music so loud that he could feel the bass deep in his chest. The sea of people that surrounded them was no help.

“Yeah! Crazy party, man!” With the humidity in the house at a killer level, Zak was quickly regretting the Dracula cape he was wearing. He was just glad he didn’t go all out with the vampire outfit this year, only slicking his hair back and slipping a pair of plastic fangs in and out of his mouth. Aaron had dressed as Gru from those Despicable Me movies, and Zak wondered where he’d gotten the nose prosthesis.

“I know right?!” Suddenly, a hand was planted on Aaron’s shoulder, and he turned to see who it was attached to: a greaser who quickly proceeded to remove his aviators, revealing a pair of beautiful brown eyes. “Nick! Hey, man!”

“Hey! What’s up?!”

“Just partying, bro! Nick, I want you to meet Zak!” Aaron yelled trying to shove the two closer together so they can all hear. “He’s been my friend for years! And Zak, this is Nick— he lives in my apartment, he’s one of my neighbors!”

“Hey! Nice to meet you!” Nick yelled at Zak.

“Same! I like your costume!”

“Thanks! I like yours too!” Zak caught Nick’s grin for a moment, causing him to grin like an idiot right back at him, before a blonde woman dressed as a sexy Minion caught their attention as she dragged away the only thing they had in common. They gave each other a look, one that read: Well, what now? Thankfully, Nick came up with something to break the new layer of ice that just formed between them. “What’s the drink situation here?!”

“I wouldn’t know- I just got here myself! Plus, I don’t really drink!”

“Oh, okay! You wanna get out of here then?!” It must’ve been the music, or one of the dozens of people passing by them in that moment that had said that, because Zak couldn’t believe what he just heard. What did this handsome man just ask him?

“What?!”

“You wanna get out of here?! It’s so loud!”

“Yeah, yeah! Sure!” Nick grabbed his new friend’s wrist before turning in the direction of the front door. Internally, he was berating himself for asking that question not just once but twice, as well as feeling some relief for saving his own ass by tacking on those three extra words when he was given the second chance. He couldn’t tell if the reason why his face felt so hot was because of all the people in such a small, crowded space, or if it was because of the smile that Zak threw his way before Aaron disappeared. As they passed through all the costumed people, they finally found themselves walking down the front walk of the unknown host’s home.

“You know, you can let go of my wrist now.” Zak told Nick, causing him to blush and reintroduce some red to his cheeks, just as a late-night breeze came to cool him down. They began walking down the suburban street with no real destination in mind.

“Oh, sorry.”

“No worries, man.” A beat of silence filled the air before Zak said what was on his mind. “So, that’s what your voice actually sounds like.”

“I could say the same to you. I couldn’t hear myself think in there.”

“Yeah, same here. **I hate costume parties…** ”

“Really?” Nick asked.

“Yeah, which is weird, ‘cause I love Halloween, I’ve just always sucked at coming up with costume ideas.” Zak’s words made Nick laugh.

“No way, dude!”

“Seriously!”

“I’m kinda the same way- except my costume is only shitty ‘cause I heard about the party kinda last minute.” Suddenly, the screams of a group of teenagers further down the sidewalk caught their attention. They walked- more like ran- past, talking loudly about “how scary that haunted house is.” Nick and Zak shared another look with each other, but Zak’s look was more questioning rather than Nick’s look of excitement. “Hey, you wanna go to a haunted house?” Nick asked with a big grin on his face. Zak mirrored his new friend’s smile.

“Yeah, let's go.” They made their way past a handful of driveways before arriving at a house decorated to the point of excess. A group of people, many of them being teens and adults, were stopped at the front door as an actor moved her arms around, while another group streamed out through the garage. The pair quickly made their way to the back of the group.

“Hello, and welcome to The Haunted House of Horrors!” The creepy looking witch greeted them very in character, adding a sharp sounding laugh in at the end. “In order to come in, you need to pay $20 per person and sign this waiver.”

“$20 per person?” Zak asked.

“Yes, all proceeds from tonight’s event go to St. Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital.”

“And a waiver?” Nick asked.

“Yes,” the witch said in her character’s voice. She came in closer to them, making her voice quiet as she came out of character. She sounded like she’d be a grade school teacher or something in real life. “It’s nothing crazy. It’s mostly just to make the aura of the whole thing a little more... scarier. Plus, it also helps to protect us in case somebody accidentally trips on some loose carpet or part of the scenery or something. Ya never know, this is an unfamiliar house to a lot of people, who knows what could happen.” Nick nodded his head, understanding what she was trying to get at. Grabbing the pen and signing his name, Nick noticed Zak’s movements of the corner of his eye; Zak had moved his cape out of the way to reach for his wallet and pulled out two twenties.

“No, Zak, you don’t have to pay for me.” Nick told him earnestly.

“No no no, it’s fine, I’m cool with paying.”

“But—” Nick was about to counter when Zak handed the money to the witch and grabbed for the clipboard in Nick’s hands.

“Thank you, boys!” The witch said, back in character, adding an eerie laugh. As she headed towards the front of the group, Zak told Nick quietly,

“ **I paid $40 so I better die.** ” Nick wanted to giggle at his words, but the seriousness on Zak’s face told him not to.

 

—x—x—x—

 

As they made their way into the garage, a man with a blade in his head and blood all over his face used a table saw to cut through a screaming little girl who was bound to the table in front of him. As various people in their group screamed for the last time, Nick said to Zak in amazement,

“Wow, **that makeup is so realistic.** ”

“Yeah, you can say that again.” They made their way down the driveway, laughing about how scared Zak got when an actor dressed as a clown popped out of a coffin right next to him and made Zak let out a high-pitched scream. “May I remind you how loud you screamed at the most obvious scare of the night?”

“Listen, it was dark in that hall— I couldn’t see that Jason knock-off in the corner!”

“Oh please, if anything the lighting was _dim_ in there! You could see him peeking out from behind the curtain like a mile away!” Zak said with a laugh.

“Whatever man, I’m not having this fight with you.”

“Yeah that’s ‘cause you’re _losing_.”

“Big words coming from the guy who was holding on to me for like half the journey!”

“Hey, it was either you or the old guy with the patchy facial hair and the ‘Members Only’ jacket. I like to think I made the right choice. Besides, from what I could feel, you’ve got stronger arms than that weird old guy.” Nick was thankful they were passing between street lamps, because then Zak would be able to see the fact that he had caused him to blush for the second time that night.

“Well thank you.” Nick replied with a smile. “If it came down to it, I’m sure I could take on every clown that pops out of a coffin for you any day.” As he looked over at his new friend, he saw his cheeks turn pink for once.

“And I’d fight a hundred Jason Voorhees knock-offs for you.” They walked in silence for a good while before Zak stopped walking and leaned up against a car. As soon as Nick noticed, he stopped and looked at him with a furrowed brow and a puzzled look. Zak quickly explained:

“This is my car.”

“Oh.” Nick said, disappointment clear in his voice.

“What are your plans for the rest of the night? Do you have a ride home?”

“Yeah, I drove here. **I’m probably just going to stay up all night so the ghosts don’t kill me.** ” This earned a chuckle from Zak.

“ **You should hang out with me later. I’m gonna marathon a bunch of movies.** ”

“Alright.” A smile spread across Nick’s face. “Well, I’m probably gonna get changed first before anything—”

“Oh, yeah, sure. Me too. Here,” Zak said, “give me your number and I’ll text you my address.” Zak handed over his iPhone and let Nick enter in his number. “And I’ll let you know when it’s good to come over, so I won’t be looking like, well... this.” He said gesturing to himself. Nick pressed ‘done’ and handed the phone back.

“Oh no, man, you look good.” Nick reassured him after looking him up and down. “I mean, minus the plastic teeth in your hand.” Zak laughed in embarrassment. “Me on the other hand, I just threw this all on.”

“Well,” Zak took this as his opportunity to eye Nick, “you don’t look too bad yourself.” Nick’s smile got bigger as he looked towards the ground. “Okay so, I’m gonna get going—” the beeps his car made as Zak unlocked it made Nick’s head pop back up, “and I’ll text you in a little while.”

“Alright I’ll talk to you later.”

“Yep.” Zak ended the conversation, getting into his car. As he sat down, he couldn’t help but watch Nick as he walked down to the corner and crossed the street. He couldn’t wait for tonight.

Little did he know, Nick was feeling the same way.

**Author's Note:**

> The bolded lines are from a sentence starter set thing, and can be found here: http://splattermemes.tumblr.com/post/178993780865/halloween-sentence-starters


End file.
